Taylor and Russell Armstrong Divorce

It’s the holidays and in the spirit of goodwill towards all, I will try my best to keep the snark out of this post about the ever present Taylor Armstrong and her plight to remain in the spotlight while playing the role of doting mother and grieving widow in light of estranged husband Russell Armstrong’ssuicide. Because honestly, who am I to say that she’s not? And FYI, that wasn’t sarcasm it was me attempting objectivity. Weird, I know.

Hollywoodlife.com caught up with the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star on December 22 as her five-year-old daughter and friends decorated cupcakes at a Beverly Hills bake shop. Taylor told the site, “My daughter Kennedy is doing good, we are both getting stronger every day. We are just taking it one day at a time. We know we are going to make it.” Taylor also revealed that young Kennedy wants an iPad for Christmas. Me too! #nosnark

Taylor explains that it is difficult for her to watch this season unfold knowing how everything plays out in the end. She admits, “It’s difficult watching the show because we taped it so long ago. But I do get to see other people’s perspectives so I understand them better. But it’s difficult doing reality TV because you experience the drama in your life when you are experiencing it and then when you watch it months later on TV you re-live it.” And then you keep doing interviews about, thus reliving it again, and again, and again.

On the most recent episode, Taylor and Russell were turned away at the door of Kyle Richards’ annual white party. No hard feelings, according to Taylor. Really? Not one to burn the bridge with her strongest, and perhaps only, ally hold grudges, Taylor shares that she’s remained close with most of her cast mates. She reveals, “We are all pretty good about keeping in touch. I talk to Kyle the most because we live close to each other and our kids play with each other. I see her a lot. I saw Lisa [Vanderpump] the other night.” So the ladies are still socializing — nothing skips a beat in Beverly Hills, it seems!

Taylor also takes the opportunity to promote her upcoming autobiography discuss her latest project which is near and dear to her heart. She hopes her book, which will be released on February 7, 2012 (she must write fast!), will serve as a catalyst to help others discuss the sensitive and extremely important subject of domestic violence. “I want my book to inspire people to talk about [abuse] — to make it a conversation, because if it’s not talked about, there can be no change,” explains Taylor.

Radaronline.com also reports that the reality star wants to prioritize her life before she hits the dating scene. While volunteering for the 1736 Family Crisis Center, Taylor told Star Magazine, “I’m learning to love myself. I’m OK being by myself and just being a mom.”

Taylor reveals that a new romance isn’t in the cards yet for her, as she’s focusing her efforts elsewhere, continuing, “I’ve got to make sure that my little girl is in the best place possible before anything else. I am having a blast with my little girl. I need some Taylor time for now.”

Also on her agenda is bringing more awareness to abuse victims. “I have a domestic violence background from my childhood,” Taylor explains. “The subject is something that is very near and dear to me.”

WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S DIFFICULT FOR TAYLOR TO WATCH THE CURRENT SEASON OF RHOBH? DO YOU BELIEVE SHE’S MENDED FENCES WITH THE LADIES? WILL YOU BE BUYING HER NEW BOOK? THOUGHTS ON HER DATING AGAIN?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, SAFE TRAVELS, AND BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL RT READERS!

Things Beverly Hills is known for now: Kyle Richards’ White Party (#sosorrybevhills), Jiggy as well as the Taylor Armstrong and Russell Armstrong tragedy. Whatever happened to “Donna Martin graduates!” and the iconic Pretty Woman mantra, “You work on commission, right? Big mistake. Huge!” Simpler times, I guess.

Because she’s not going anywhere one celebrity site is shedding more insight into Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’Taylor Armstrong’s life… and the decision she may have hoped would secure her a spot on the potential third season of Bravo’s hit show. I’m exhausted writing about it, so she surely has to be tired living it. One would hope…don’t I wish.

RadarOnline.com is citing Taylor’s timing for her divorce filing from the late Russell Armstrong as a necessity to keep her in the network’s good graces. The site is reporting that Taylor “finally decided to file for divorce from her then-husband… because executives at Bravo had implemented a ban prohibiting the couple from appearing on the hit show after Russell sent executives legal letters threatening to sue.”

We all watched awkwardly (insert typical metaphor here — it’s a train wreck… you don’t want to see it, but you can’t look away) on the most recent episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. You recall that Taylor and Russell were turned away from Kyle’s annual White Party by the teary hostess (and a bada$$ Paul Nassif!) after Russell threatened fellow cast mate Camille Grammar with a lawsuit via e-mail for alleging abuse against his wife.

However, it seems Camille wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of Russell’s litigious barrage because a source close to the show claims, “During filming of the show, as the season progressed, [he] started sending blistering letters and e-mails to Bravo and NBC Universal executives threatening lawsuits. Russell was furious that Taylor had discussed their serious marital issues, including the fact that he hit her on multiple occasions.”

The insider continues, saying that Russell was irate “the fellow housewives were now talking about it on the show.” The insider reveals, “Russell would have had no legal leg to stand on because it was Taylor who was telling the girls this stuff. Bravo and NBC decided that Russell and Taylor were more trouble than they were worth, and decided to end filming with them, as soon as it became apparent that Russell was going to continue down that path.”

So what’s a girl to do? Her spotlight in jeopardy and her husband an alleged ticking time-bomb, the Bravo star did what needed to be done. The source says, “Taylor decided to pursue the separation first, but then she thought to get back on the show, she would need to file for divorce, so that she could appear on the show again, if she promised executives that she was leaving him for good.” Despite all the clauses the insider throws out in that statement, the entire scene is just plain sad. Whether you believe a woman was so desperate to remain on a television program that she would throw her marriage under the bus or that she was saving herself and her young daughter from terrors to come, the whole situation was/is/and will continue to be horrific and heart wrenching.

The insider continues, “[F]or a very long time [Taylor knew] that she needed to leave Russell because of the verbal and physical abuse. Being taken off a show that she loved doing because of his actions was the catalyst that finally made her pull the trigger on her marriage. Russell knew he was going to be exposed and was in full damage control mode. Ultimately, there was nothing he could do to stop it.”

Taylor won’t be seen on the show again until the new year according to the source who reports, “The episode that will air on Monday night will show all of the girls except Taylor going to Hawaii. Taylor will call the girls, and tell them on speakerphone while they are on their Hawaiian holiday that she had decided to leave Russell.”

Again, regardless of your opinions on this tragedy (and I have my own, believe me) it’s nothing but awful given Russell’ssuicide, the fact that an innocent five-year-old is involved, and the notion that it’s all playing out for our “entertainment.” So sad, and yet please know the irony of me writing about it isn’t lost on this gal. Here’s hoping that outside the world that is Beverly Hills (past and present) you and yours revel in family and friends this holiday season.

THOUGHTS ON THIS NEW REVELATION? DO YOU THINK TAYLOR FILED FOR DIVORCE TO STAY ON THE SHOW? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RUSSELL THREATENING THE NETWORK WITH LAWSUITS?

Taylor, 40, makes the shocking revelations in an all new interview with PEOPLE magazine. While all that talk about an amicable split came about after Taylor filed for divorce following six years of marriage, she is now telling a darker tale of her relationship’s demise.

“I felt like I was dying inside,” she says. “Now, there’s some sense of peace.” Taylor claims Russell was both verbally and physically abusive, with name-calling, hair pulling, and shoving being a staple of their marriage. She also alleges Russell threw things at her when enraged. As a child of domestic abuse, Taylor was an advocate for battered women, and her efforts were highlighted on the first season.

Taylor reveals, “I’m mad at myself for tolerating things I should not have tolerated from the first moment. Allowing this to happen in my own relationship was something I felt very ashamed of.”

After several months of counseling, Taylor realized she needed a better environment for the couple’s five-year-old daughter Kennedy and decided to end the marriage, adding the decision was a difficult one. “When I knew the filing had gone through, I just started to cry,” she says. “We tried hard to fix our marriage, but it wasn’t healthy.”

For his part, Russell, 47, admits, “Did I push her? Yes, maybe things happened in the heat of the moment, but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were. This show has literally pushed us to the limit.” Russell, however, denies ever pulling his wife’s hair.

The viewers of the reality hit will watch the couple’s marriage implode on the upcoming season which premieres September 5 on Bravo.